


The Drums

by Malicean



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies)
Genre: Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 12:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17325221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malicean/pseuds/Malicean
Summary: Drums ... drums in the deep. No one like Ian McKellen to read from a musty tome – but of course the Book of Mazarbul was only fragmentary. Want to know what really happened? Ask the ones who were there ....2010 Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards Winner





	The Drums

**Author's Note:**

> My New Year's resolution for 2019: crosspost my works from FFnet to AO3 at last.  
> Since some of those are over a decade old by now, though, I will look through each of them first, for a bit of a rehaul. Content will not change, but I will remove obvious mistakes and perhaps break up some walls-of-text. Expect about two or three chapters/oneshots per week that way, depending on size and how much time I can make to work on them.  
> (For the impatient reader: I use the same pen name on FFnet, too.)  
>   
>  **The Drums** was first posted on FFnet: 2/11/2006

* * *

Hear the drums, approaching drums,  
Thirsty drums.  
Long enough they waited for revenge, but here it comes!  
Longbeards keeping the Great Hollow,  
Black blood running from their blades.  
Now the crimson blood will follow,  
Splash the rocks here at the gates.  
Forward pike!  
War-drums aching for the song,  
Silenced now, it won't be long  
Till we strike.

Hear, the thund'ring water drums,  
Icy drums.  
Masking black horde trampling in the shadows as it comes.  
Scout shot dwarf at silent water,  
White-beard calling out in spite.  
Onward now, commence the slaughter  
At the falling of the night.  
Kill them all!  
See them fall back to the door,  
They will get out nevermore,  
They will fall.

Hear the calling of the drums,  
Waking drums.  
Ancient sleeper roused from slumber, here it comes. It comes!  
Roaring, rising, it crawls nearer,  
Aeons passed in lightless pit.  
Come on, stupid beast! the cheerer  
Taunts the blinded giant squid.  
And it came.  
Rock is crumbling, drums are still,  
Water dammed, west door will kill  
All the same.

Hear the throbbing, driving drums,  
Angry drums.  
Gory stream of steel and fire eastern gate becomes.  
Broken down at last the door wings,  
Dwarves fight back with all their might.  
Black and red run deep, the drum sings,  
Sing the song of death tonight!  
Darkness wins.  
Fallen bodies pave the way,  
We will feast on flesh today!  
Binge begins.

Hear them pound so loud, the drums,  
Luring drums.  
Keeping longbeard's ear unheeding, as to bait the eye succumbs.  
Thorny gauntlets, thorny armour,  
Crawling, climbing holdless rock.  
Clinging fast to ebon marmor  
Underneath the dwarven block.  
Down they pass.  
Bridge of Khazad-dûm to take,  
Through their best defence to break  
As through glass.

Hear the laughter of the drums,  
Threat'ning drums.  
Dwarven doom is near and with their fear the Hollow hums.  
Reinforcement, calls the message,  
Caught the sneaker, seeking flight,  
When he tried light well for passage,  
Red now streaks the curséd light,  
Laughs the beast.  
Western gate, it has no keeper,  
So they thought, and thus the sleeper  
Had its feast.

Hear the great majestic drums,  
Timeless drums.  
From the deepest hoard of longbeards' long-dead kings it comes.  
Voice of vengeance, voice of fire,  
Dragon skull and dragon hide.  
Hear them, fear them, feel the ire,  
Feel the drums pulse deep inside,  
All the time.  
Thunder rolling in the deep,  
Threat to keep away the sleep.  
Fear sublime.

Hear the drums, approaching drums,  
Thirsty drums.  
Long enough we waited for revenge, but now it comes!  
Cornered now, they cling like leeches  
To their king's hall, to his grave.  
Not for long now, see the breaches,  
Let us flood with blades the cave.  
Red runs deep.  
Last dwarves falling, torn to shreds,  
Stud the Hollow with their heads!  
Ours to keep.

Hear them sing no more, the drums,  
Silent drums.  
For they woke another sleeper, now the fear they called, it comes!  
Fire! Fear! the dragon's drum roared,  
Roused and summoned as it sung.  
And its voice, it stroke an old chord,  
Unheard since the world was young.  
Ancient wrath.  
The Old Fire rose from slumber.  
Ghâsh! Who-kills-foes-without-number.  
Flee His path.


End file.
